Rail-joint



UNITED STATES- ANDREW J. NEAFIE, OF MOUNTAIN LAKES, NEW JERSEY.

RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 6, 1921.

Application filed December 22, 1920. Serial No. 432,472.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW J. NEAFIE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Mountain Lakes, in the county of Morris and State of NewJersey, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inRail-Joints, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to means for joining and supporting the abuttingends of railway rails, and the main object of the invention is toprovide a base-platoon which the joined rail-ends are reliably supportedbetween adjacent ties with freedom of the rail to creep thereon in thedirection of travel, and which may be easily and economically shifted tothe next advance tie when the rail-joint has advanced by such creep.

Another important object is to provide the base-plate with spike-holesso located. as to match the spike-holes in the tie-plate employed, sothat in such advance of the base plate the spikes for the forward end ofsuch plate will be received in the holes left vacant in the tie by theremoval of the forward tie-plate, and the-spikes for the latter will bereceived in the holes in the rearward tie left vacant by the shifting ofthe baseplate, thus avoiding damage to-the ties in making the shift.

Another object is to provide rail-bars for connecting the abutting endsof the rails, so constructed as to join such ends strongly and stifilywithout connection to the baseplate, and also to be reversiblewhen wornby the impact thereon of the rail-headsand thus permit the presentationof an. unworn surface to such impact without requiring the installationof new bars.

The invention consists in certain novel features and details ofconstruction and arrangement by which the abovejand' other objects areattained, to be hereinafter described and claimed.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification and showtheinvention as it has been carried out in practice.

Figure 1 is a plan view ofa rail-joint showing the base-plate bridgingtwo ties, and a standard tie-plate on the adjacent forward tie. Thedotted lines show the positions of the parts when the base-plate hasbeen advanced and the rearward tieplate secured on the vacated tie.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the upper face of I the base-plate alone. I

Fig. 6 is a corresponding longitudinal vertical section, taken on theline 66 in Fig. 5, and partly in elevation.

Fig. 7 is an elevation showing the inner face of a rail-bars.

Referring to the drawings, 1, 2 and 3 indicate the three ties includedin the operation of the invention. 4:..is a base-plate shown as securedto the central tie 2 and rearward tie 3 and bridging the space betweenthem, and 5 is a tie-plate secured to the forward tie marked 1.

The j oint, at 6between the rail-ends 7 and 8 lies on the base plate andthe rail-ends are supported by the latter. On the base-plate 4 arelongitudinal ribs 9 and 10 forming a shouldered channel in which thebase of the rail is received to prevent lateral movement of therail-ends. The ribs or ridges 9 and 10 are formed integrally with thebody of the plate and are preferably of sufficient width or lateralthickness to permit reclaiming when worn, to receive rails of greaterwidth of base. Beyond the ribs, onv each side of the plate, the upperface is formed with shallow grooves as at 11 and 12- to matchapproximately the under faces of the heads of standard screw-spikes orother fastening means. I

.The tie-plate 5 is shown as held by screwspikes 13, 14 and 15, andperforms its usual function.

At the forward end of the base-plate, on the outer side, are spike-holes16 and 17 and on the inner side, 18 and 19, and at therearward end onthe outer side, 20 and 21, and on the inward side, 22 and 23.Screw-spikes 24 and cut-spikes 24 in all the holes hold the base-platesecurely to the ties 2 and 3. The holes 17, 18, 21 and 22 are in theshallow grooves 11 and 12. The holes 16, 19, 20 and 23 extend throughthe ribs 9 and 10 and the flanged heads of the cut-spikes therein arethus held above and out of conportion of one of the reversible tact withthe rail-base While overhanging the latter to limit the rising movementof the rail ends, as usual.

When the creep of the rail has moved the joint 6 forward, as indicatedin dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2, the spikes 13, 14 and 15 in thetie-plate 5 are withdrawn and the tie-plate removed. The spikes 24 and24, are also removed from the base-plate 4 and the latter shiftedforward to bridge the space between ties 1 and 2, with the spike holes16, 17 and 19 matching the holes in tiel left vacant by the spikes 13,14 and 15 of the removed tie-plate, and the hole 18 presented over anunbored surface of the tie '1 in which a spike may take a firm holdinthehew wood. Theadvance of the base: plate brings the holes 20, 21, 22and 23 into register with the vacatedspike holes in tie 2 ready for theinsertion of the spikes,

'and the holes in tie 3 left vacant by the withdrawal of spikes from theholes 20, 21 and 23, receive the newly inserted spikes correspondingto13, 14 and 15 in the same or another tie-plate introduced beneath therail on tie 3.

Ties asnow treated with preservatives resist the action of the elementsand ordinai'y wear of service for long periods if not otherwise damagedby the use of this invention the crushing strains at the railjoints aredistributed by the base-plate over wide surface areas on two adjacentties, thus reducing the effect of 'usual unavoidable Wear, and themechanical damage due to a multiplicity of spike-holes is eliminated andthe tearing out-of the spikes as in a fixed joint is entirely avoided.

To stiffen the joint and reduce the shocks to the ties due "to thedepression of one railendrelatively to the other at the passage of a carwheel, the rail-bars 25, formed as shown, are em loyed. Each has a heavridge or flange 26 on the inner face at we margin, with the upper andlower edges inclined or beveled to match to the under face of therail-head and upper face of therailbase, and are applied in pairsclamped; to the rail by traek-bolts 27 extendin through the bars and webof the rail an heldby washers 28 and nuts 29. The cros's section of thebars is such as to insure great stren th and stiffness and as both edgesare practically alike, with the holes for the traek-bolts located at themidheightfthey may be applied with either edge uppermost.

The impact of the under surface of the rail-heads upon the upper edgesof the railbars at and immediately adjacent to the rail joint 6,eventually produces a slight notch or depression in such edges,lessening the effective supportofthe rail-ends at this point, When thisdepression has increased sufliciently torequire attention, it is onlynecessary to remove the bars and reverse them by turning the unimpairedlower edge uppermost beneath the rail-head with the damaged edge incontact. with the rail-base,

in which latter contaet the depression is of no consequence, and the baris thus conditioned for another long period of service.

By thus reliably joining and supporting the rail-ends at the joint, theshocks deinvention to various conditions of service and to the standardsof construction adopted by various railways. Y

Cut-'spikesor screw-spikes may be employed as dictated by conditionsor'preferment, or on bridgestructures. and the like, bolts may besubstituted In the usual method in which the rail joints are fixedlysecured to the ties, the creep due to travel in one direction,expansion, or other'canses, carries the fastened ends ofthej ties withthe rail; resultin in skewing these ties into angular "positions,requiring correction and therespaci'ng' of the adjacent ties By theused]? thepresent invention this fault and the labor and exe'ns'eattendin such correction are avoided. he same a pies tore-laying "railsdiffering in len'gt from therernoved rails and having the rail-jointsdifferently located relatively to the ties. 1 i

I claims-- to lie upon two adjacent'ties andto support the abutting railends with freedom for the rail to move longitudinally thereon, means forjoining said ran-ends, spike hol'es in said base-plate located to "matchthe spike holes in a as: late, and means receivedin such spike iiolesfor'holding said base-plate and tie plate to the ties.

2." In a raihjeint, baSe pIate a'da ted to lie upon tw'o adjacent tiesand bridge the s" ace between them and support 'the abut.- tmgrail-e'nds with freedom of the railto move longitudinall thereon, atie-plate on the succeeding a vanced tie, fme'ans fifor fastening saidbase-plate and tie-plate to sueh ties, said base-plate havingspike-holesmatching the spikeholes in said tie-plat substantially as and for thepurposes herein set forth. 7 h j e e 3 In a rail-joint, a base plat'eadapted to lie upon two adjacent ties ana' ndge the space between themand to support the abutting rail-ends, longitudinally extended ribs onsaid base-plate adapted to receive the rail-base of said rail endsbetween them and permit said rail-ends to move ,freely longitudinallyandto hold said rail-ends against lateral movement, a tie-plate on thesucceeding advanced tie, means for joinr M "1:00 1. In a rail-joint, abase-plate adapted ing said rail-ends, removable fastening means forsecuring said base-plate and tieplate to such ties, said base-plate,having spike-holes at the front and rear ends, located to match thespike-holes in said tieplate, substantially as and for the purposesherein set forth.

4-. A base-plate for a rail-joint, adapted to lie upon two adjacent tiesand bridge the space between them, longitudinally extending ribs on saidplate, spike-holes through said plate exterior to'said ribs, located tomatch spike-holes in a tie-plate, and spikeholes extending through saidribs and plate.

5. A base-plate for a rail-joint, adapted to lie upon two adjacent tiesand bridge the space between them, longitudinally extending ribs on saidplate, grooves in the latter exterior to said ribs, and spike-holesextending through said plate in said ribs and grooves.

6. The method of conserving railroad ties at a rail-joint consisting ofsupporting the rail-ends on a base-plate with freedom to movelongitudinally thereon, such baseplate bridging the space between twoadjacent ties, and having spike-holes for the reception of removablefastening means ex tending through such holes into said ties, suchspike-holes arranged to match the holes in the next advanced tieproduced by the removable fastening means for a railsupporting tie-plateon such advanced tie,

when said base-plate is shifted forward,

and the holes in the rearward tie thus vacated matching the holes insuch tie-plate. In testimony that I claim the invention above set fonthI affix my signature,

ANDREW J. NEAFIE.

